We used science to find out how many calories are really in fast food

In 2008, New York City began requiring chain restaurants to post the calorie counts of their menu items. The FDA will begin requiring calorie counts nationally after 2016. We used the most accurate calorie machine, a bomb calorimeter, to find out if chain restaurants are posting correct counts.

We reached out for comment to all restaurants involved, but not all responded.

Produced by Kevin Reilly. Animations by Gene Kim. Special thanks to Russell Rising.